Understanding Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

By Clifford Newman, MD

Fairfax Psychiatry of Centreville

. http://www.fairfaxpsychiatryofcentreville.com/

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Understanding Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is not always recognized which unfortunately results in a person unnecessarily suffering and not getting appropriate treatment.

PTSD can develop after a person sees, is involved in, or hears of an “extreme traumatic stressor”. The person reacts to this experience with fear and helplessness, persistently relives the event (for example, through daily thoughts or dreams), and tries to avoid being reminded of it. They will often undergo a numbing responsiveness with a state of hyperarousal.

The stress causing PTSD is overwhelming enough to affect almost anyone. It can arise from experiences in war, torture, natural catastrophes, assault, rape, and serious accidents, for example, in cars and burning buildings.

Other symptoms may include depression, anxiety, aggression, irritability, poor impulse control, difficulty concentrating, drug or alcohol abuse, and alexithymia (the inability to identify or verbalize feelings.)

These other possible symptoms often make it difficult to diagnose, especially if the person avoids (consciously or unconsciously) talking about the traumatic event.

There are also subclinical forms that are very mild and don’t meet the full criteria. While not everyone develops PTSD when faced with an overwhelming trauma, others can develop difficulties coping with events that may appear more mundane or less than catastrophic to most people, especially when cultural differences are involved.

There are a lot of different types of treatment for PTSD. Treatment usually involves psychotherapy (of which there are many different types) and often psychopharmacology depending on severity and symptoms. Understanding this illness is the first step needed for effective treatment.